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「So... what's Rysef like?」

My voice resounded through the narrow tunnels we found ourselves traversing.

A repulsive stench filled my nose—a mix of dead rats and fecal matter. Even as I covered my nostrils with my tunic, the smell seeped through.

Two hours in and it was getting borderline unbearable.

I had been dragged into an authentic sewer used by the tens of thousands of denizens living in Yarzon City.

The dank tunnels were pitch black, illuminated only by a flickering wax candle in Melyn's hand.

I had figured someone called the "Lakua District Master" would've lived in a slightly more inviting part of the slums, something like an abandoned shack or a run-down factory.

But as I trudged through a dark and foul-smelling canal beside brown stagnant water, I came to realize what being a slum dweller truly meant.

Misery. Hardship. Pain.

In this world and the last, money was the one thing that kept you from suffering such a fate.

The thought only bolstered my resolve in becoming the richest man in this new world.

To stand above the rest was a conviction I could uphold with confidence.

「Rysef huh..? Well for starters, he's my master and the master of this district. An important figure in the slums.」

「Tell me something I don't know.」

The thief girl quickly turned around and angrily stomped towards me.

Her cheeks puffed up as her lower lip protruded in an irritated pout.

She went up to my face—a few centimeters between us.

「My master is also very protective of me. Make me unhappy, and you make him unhappy. Got it Zozo?」

I took a step back after hearing her obviously veiled threat.

「N-noted.」

「Good. Any more questions?」

Without delay, I asked a less offending inquiry.

「Magic. You know anything about it?」

Melyn's crimson eyes widened. Amidst the dim lighting, even I could tell she was taken aback by my question.

Worried by her reaction, I swiftly made up an explanation to ease my delivery.

「I-I saw a guy in the market using it. I was just curious about it.. haha....」

「O-oh. You know about magic Zozo? The term is rarely used among the slum dweller community. Most of us haven't experienced it firsthand after all.」

「Is that so..?」

The thief girl swung around and continued back on course, leaving me with even more questions. Confused by her response, I scurried ahead and walked beside her.

「What's with the surprise? Is it taboo to bring it up?」

「No, no, nothing of the sort. I was simply impressed you knew the word. People, especially kids your age are typically oblivious to that facet of our world.」

「Facet... eh?」

Her comment intrigued me greatly. Magic was definitely a major aspect to this world. I sought to learn more about it before meeting this Rysef person.

Making an impression during our first meeting would be very beneficial indeed.

「You know anything about it Melyn?」

「It's Big Sister Mel to you—and as for my knowledge on the subject... we should probably leave all discussions after talking to Rysef.」

Dammit.

In my keenness to milk valuable knowledge out of her, I wasted my chance to obtain useful tidbits on the magic of this world.

It was a blunder that demonstrated the difficulty in extracting information face-to-face. A video game no longer acted as an intermediary.

I needed to carefully use my words.

「B-back to Rysef... what kind of person is he?」

「This again? I really can't find the words to—」

Suddenly, the thief girl stopped dead in her tracks and signaled me to follow suit—this time with indiscernible reason.

She placed her wax candle flat on the cold pavement and slowly backed away.

What was going on..?

「What's wrong this time..?」

「The flame. Something's pulling it.」

Sure enough, I witnessed an unusual sight.

The tip of the candle flame steadily stretched towards the passage ahead, as though it were a string of mozzarella. It was unnatural—otherworldly even.

「Doesn't it mean there's an exit this way?.」

「No, that's impossible. The area ahead is a closed space, the grates behind us should be closer. Besides, the flame is stretched far too thin for this to be normal.」

Melyn's concern made me uneasy. All explanations I conjured up were null. I was wholly in the dark, both literally and figuratively.

The only plausible answer was that this was a phenomenon unique to the new world. Not knowing anything about it left me feeling helpless.

I could only count on the thief girl's judgment.

「I'll scout up ahead. You stay here.」

「W-we're splitting up? If this were a horror film, that'd be the part where one of us dies you know?」

「Horror film..?」

The anxiety was getting to me.

Was it a mythical beast? Was it an evil spellcaster? Did a slum dweller go rogue?

Being left alone in rank-smelling tunnels with little to no fighting abilities was the worst thing that could happen.

Especially when faced with an unknown foe.

Melyn's eagerness to leave me alone had my heart beating faster than ever. The fear from our first meeting couldn't contend.

「I'll go with you.」

「No can do, you'll just get in my way.」

「What if the enemy's behind us?」

「Then you can run to me, right?」

It was no good. This girl's constant exposure to danger had impaired her rationality. I couldn't possibly outrun a deadly enemy with my stick legs.

But arguing further would get us nowhere.

「Don't worry. Your big sis will be back before you know it.」

「Before I know it can imply I won't be around to know about it you know..? Are you trying to jinx me..?」

Melyn brushed off my pessimistic remarks and rushed towards the source of the strange occurrence—disappearing into the darkness.

I stood motionless, bathed in the undying candlelight.

The wax taper's flame had stretched into a stick-like plasmatic form. It resembled a bright and pencil-thin orange glowstick.

Though it provided me with warmth and light, I didn't feel safe. I couldn't.

I was at a strategic disadvantage.

For all I knew, it could've been a diversion. Perhaps I was the priority of the enemy's attack.

A single reason as to why had been clear to me since the beginning.

I was not of this world.

Had someone witnessed my miraculous arrival, word of it would have already spread. There would no doubt be discourse amongst a hypothetical magic society.

I quietly sat on the ground cross-legged and twiddled my thumbs.

There was nothing I could do. I lacked both power and knowledge.

The cautious nature I developed during my time as a Battleshift player definitely had an effect on me.

This time, however, I couldn't decide on my next plan of action. My life was on the line. A blunder here could lead to my death.

Would it be considered suicide if I recklessly got myself killed? Do I even want to try?

I wrestled with my thoughts once more.

Risk assessment was the first thing I conducted. Hell, as a college student who majored in economics, risk assessment was the first thing I learned.

If I were to get myself killed, it'd be a fifty-fifty chance I landed in either heaven or hell. Terrible odds. I wasn't a high-risk high-reward kind of guy.

Plus... I didn't want to experience getting killed again. I didn't know if my mind could take it.

Running back also wasn't an option. I couldn't have possibly retraced my steps through the complex sewer systems of Yarzon.

Visibility was another issue. The only source of light I had was currently behaving strangely. There was no guarantee it would last a two-hour trip.

Bumbling in the dark was the last thing I wanted to do.

My only two choices were to either wait as instructed or run up ahead and meet up with Melyn. Both were equally undesirable—but they were all I could think of.

Not knowing the enemy was the biggest detriment here. It was a missing piece of information that could've served to solidify my confidence in deciding on a course of action.

I wouldn't want to run into the place and face some high-level fantasy creature capable of one-shotting me.

Could a creature like that even exist in a mere sewer system? Unlikely, but who's to say?

And so I made up my mind. As painful as it was, waiting was the best move I could make.

I slapped both my cheeks and prepared myself mentally. Assessing the risks of each choice took a load off of me.

Though still anxious, I had faith in my judgment and waited patiently.

Right as I had settled on the decision though, I heard a scream echo from the passage ahead.

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!」

「Melyn..!」

I jolted up. The situation had drastically changed. My only liaison in this world had let out a distressed scream.

It was either rush in and save her or book it. Standing around with a thumb up my ass wasn't going to solve anything.

But how exactly do I save her?

I was light and agile but not exactly sturdy. Not to mention, my coordination still needed some work.

If I busted in there with nothing prepared, I'd effectively be putting myself in unnecessary danger.

Wait... do I even really need to save her? It's not like she asked for my help or anything...

「ZOZOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!」

So much for that excuse.

If I abandoned Melyn, what would the ramifications be? The slum dwellers shouldn't be aware of my involvement unless...

I racked my brain for anything that could implicate me—then I remembered.

「Before entering the sewers... We sauntered through the slums. Dozens of slum dwellers witnessed us together...」

I was involved from the start. If I left her to die now, I was somewhat certain the "Lakua District" slum dwellers—led by none other than Rysef—would hunt me down.

Being on the other end of a misplaced vengeance was not an ideal situation to find myself in.

Which meant I had no choice but to play hero and save Melyn, or at least try to. I had no idea how close we were to the slum dweller base, so I couldn't count on getting help.

I drew in a deep breath.

「DON'T WORRY MELYN, I'M COMING!!!」

I picked the wax candle up and rushed to Melyn's location. The stone brick tunnels grew smaller and smaller until I could just barely keep my head up.

I wasn't claustrophobic, but this narrow space in particular, gave me some bad vibes.

In my haste, I tripped on a foreign object and tumbled onto the ground. I dropped the candle, yet the flame stayed lit.

「Ugh... what the hell...」

Slumped over, I grabbed hold of the wax candle again and illuminated the floor behind me. It was then that my heart dropped.

「Y-you can't be serious...」

Melyn's cloak. Drenched in blood. I slowly pivoted on my heel and lit the path ahead of me. A trail of red dragged on into the blackness.

Crimson deeper than the thief girl's eyes painted the gray tunnel in splatters and smears.

It took every fiber of my being not to vomit. I couldn't properly analyze the situation and my body incessantly trembled.

I was experiencing the most intense fight or flight response in my life.

Do I turn back? Do I proceed? Is it already too late for her?

Questions danced around in my head, yet answers never came.

It was too early to conclude Melyn had met her demise but was confirming it really worth doing? After all, there was a threat lurking around these sewers.

「Save... me...」

Her tremulous voice interrupted my train of thought. It was closer than I had anticipated.

「M-Melyn is that you? Are you alright?」

「Saave... me...」

She repeated in an empty tone. No inflection, no emotion—nothing to signify the thief girl was in a normal state.

I was shaken by her response and crawled away.

「Haha... B-big Sister Mel... stop playing around! If you can respond, respond normally you jokester....」

「Saaave... me...」

It was then I felt fingers wrap around my ankles. That was it.

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!」

I desperately scrambled away from the ghastly voice. Yet the cold hands clutched tightly.

Zombies and ghosts were the one thing I couldn't handle. But the undead I loathed.

If you're gonna die, then stay dead!

「Zozo... saaaave... me...」

「GET AWAY YOU WALKING CORPSE!!! REST IN PEACE ALREADY!!!」

As I scampered back through the tunnels, terrified beyond words, I encountered another corpse in front of me.

Wait did I pass this one before?!

Before I could recall anything, it violently lifted its head and started laughing.

「HAHAHAHAHAHA... WELCOME TO THE SEWERS KIDDO!!!」

That was the final blow to my sanity. Immediately upon meeting face-to-face with a rotting body, I passed out.

I couldn't remember what happened afterwards.

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